At a glance

In 2022–23, U.S. News & World Report ranked UC Davis Children’s Hospital among the nation’s best in five pediatric specialties, including: diabetes & endocrinology, neonatology, nephrology, orthopedics, and pulmonology & lung surgery. The orthopedics ranking was awarded in collaboration with Shriners Children’s Northern California, our longstanding partner in caring for children with burns, spinal cord injuries, orthopedic disorders and urological issues.

More than 280 UC Davis Health physicians have been included on a list of the region’s best doctors in the 2022 Sacramento Magazine “Top Docs” survey. The list demonstrates UC Davis Health’s across-the-board, world-class care as physicians from 63 specialty areas, including 18 pediatric subspecialties, were recognized.

This past year, we were re-verified as a level I trauma center and a level I pediatric trauma center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the world standard bearer for surgical quality. This achievement recognizes the trauma centers’ dedication to transforming trauma care for optimal outcomes. We are one of only three facilities in the state with level I verification for both adult and pediatric trauma.

UC Davis chief of fetal and pediatric surgery Shinjiro Hirose, M.D., F.A.C.S., has been appointed surgeon-in-chief of UC Davis Children’s Hospital. He has served as chief of pediatric surgery, vice chair of surgery and founder and director of the UC Davis Fetal Care and Treatment Center.

Su-Ting Li, M.D., M.P.H., vice chair of education and residency program director in the UC Davis Department of Pediatrics, has received the Robert S. Holm, M.D. Leadership Award from the Association of Pediatric Program Directors (APPD). The award honors one APPD member each year for extraordinary contributions in leadership and support of other program leaders as a mentor, advisor or role model at the organization’s national level.

Satyan Lakshminrusimha, M.D., M.B.B.S., UC Davis Children’s Hospital pediatrician-in-chief, has been named Clinical Care Committee Chair of the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs (AMSPDC). The committee shares best practices and approaches to new challenges in an effort to promote access to high-quality care for all children.

Veronica Ahumada, director of the Technology and Social Connectedness Lab at UC Davis and the first female principal investigator of a National Robotics Initiative grant, was honored with the Early Career Award at the 2022 EDGE in Tech Initiative Athena Awards from the Expanding Diversity and Gender Equity in Tech Initiative.

This past year, we opened a one-of-a-kind clinic dedicated to treating pediatric lipid disorders. The clinic, located in Roseville, offers care closer to home for children with abnormal cholesterol levels, elevated triglycerides and lipoprotein (a) levels, other complex lipid disorders and secondary causes of lipid abnormalities such as diabetes and kidney disease.